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Nuggets of Wisdom

Friday, April 10, 2015

New Mexico Abolishes Civil Forfeiture

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez recently signed a bill abolishing civil asset forfeiture, a controversial legal process by which law enforcement may seize property from people suspected of criminal or illegal activity, even without necessarily charging them with any wrongdoing. The bill itself received universal bipartisan approval from both the state House and Senate, without a single person voting against it.

To understand why this bill is such a big deal for personal liberty, here’s John Oliver explaining civil forfeiture and the many ways law enforcement has abused the process for their own personal gain. (Hint: some police departments have used seized monies to buy stuff like frozen margarita machines!)